Prototype

Now it’s time to try out your chosen technology and design a prototype of your creation. Prototyping can sound daunting if you think of it in relation to engineering or lab work. But at its basic level, it involves putting a small tangible creation in front of your users instead of talking about abstract ideas. It can result in much richer feedback from the people that matter to you and your work. The basic steps are:

Design

Share

Refine

Experimentation and play are essential for getting to know a tool and discovering what works well within a design. But when it comes to creating something entirely new, it’s best to approach it with a well-thought-out vision of what you want the end result to be.

If you select a technology from one of the resources included in one of The How To’s, you will have access to its guided lessons and activities that will help you get started. If you decide to explore new terrain through a tool or technology from another list, you will have to do a bit more planning.

Design

Now that you’ve mapped out a plan, how do you actually want to prototype? We suggest one of two ways:

Dig in to the Tool

Use Creative Materials

Dig in to the Tool

If you decide to take the leap and start working with the tool, keep in mind that this requires dedicated time. If it’s your first time using the tool, go through any tutorials provided, or search for some online – undoubtedly there are others that you can learn from. Also reassure yourself that this prototype does not need to solve the learner challenge entirely – perhaps it is just one aspect of the challenge that you’ve uncovered. Start small. That’s the whole idea behind prototyping – you create what is known as the “minimal viable product”.

Prototype with Post-it notes

You can always take a cautionary, but equally valuable approach by mocking up your prototype using post-it notes. Post-it notes can help you storyboard and prioritize the sequence of interactions that support the use of your technology. You can add steps in and move them around, and ultimately end up with a series of instructions that can help frame the activity for your learner.

Share

Share your creation with peers or learners and obtain feedback. Ask them the following:

Refine

Based on their responses, you can now take the necessary steps to synthesize that feedback in order to refine your creation. And it’s important to recognize that often it isn’t practical or beneficial to fix every perceived issue from your users. You might want to take the feedback received and prioritize it based on feasibility and how it works to evolve the best solution for your learner challenge.